Aroid Market
Hoya Kerri Variegated
1. The photo is just an example, you will get a random plant, size and shape as in the photo (more leaves or less). Of course we will choose the best plants for you, healthy plants are our priority
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Hoya Kerrii Variegated, also goes by the name sweetheart plant, is a draping succulent vine that produces clusters of star-shaped waxy flowers. The thick heart-shaped leaves of kerii are why it’s often called Sweetheart. This Hoya can be found in solid green or with variegated leaves.
Hoya Kerrii Variegated is a very easy to care for plant as long as you have plenty of light and water sparingly. These plants like to be pot bound therefore we suggest not to repot it often. It will flower only when given enough light. Flowers are known to be quite fragrant.
Many people swear that Hoya’s are the easiest to care for houseplants! They make for excellent houseplants as they can whit-stand neglect.
Please note: Hoya Kerrii won’t flower unless it receives very bright indirect sunlight. A south-facing window would be ideal, although eastern and western exposures may also work if they are bright enough. This plant will even tolerate a little direct sunlight.
Synonyms : Hoya kerrii var. albomarginata
Family: Apocynaceae
Genus: Hoya
LIGHT
These plants are a bit slow in the growing department, and if you don’t give them enough light, they will be REALLY slow growing! :-).
What kind of light should you give these indoors? SUN! These plants like at least a few hours of direct sun indoors. Only if you give your plant plenty of light will you experience any satisfying growth.
I would avoid North facing windows. Your plant will certainly survive and look just fine, but give your kerrii an Eastern window (morning sun), Western window (afternoon sun) or even Southern exposure for best results.
Know that all your plant’s leaves will all turn a lighter shade of green, or even a yellowish green, if it is getting a lot of direct sun. If you don’t like the look of it, simply reduce the number of hours of sun, or diffuse the sun with thin curtains or blinds, and it will green up a bit.
Having sunny windows is a blessing! You can always reduce the amount of light coming in, but it’s hard to get MORE light unless you get artificial lighting.
If you have a variegated Hoya kerrii, like the one below, these require more light than the plain green ones. Otherwise the care is identical. You will probably experience slower growth in the variegated plant since they have less chlorophyll.
WATER
Hoyas in general are great for neglectful gardeners! They can remain dry for quite a while and it will not phase them.
I allow my Hoya kerrii soil to dry out completely, and then I give it a good soaking.
Try not to let your plant stay in completely dry soil for too long though, especially during the active growing season. DO let at least the top inch or two of the soil dry out completely before watering again.
If you’ve let your soil dry out for long periods of time, and the water seems to go straight through and not absorb into the soil, you will need to work at it a bit.
Water it several times in a row until the medium moistens. And don’t worry, you are NOT overwatering. Allow all excess water to drain away.
POT SIZE
This is a crucial topic for Hoyas! Hoyas like to stay a bit tight in their pots so DON’T overpot your plants. If your plant is pot-bound, which they like and even will respond well by blooming (but only if you have good light as well).
Hoyas can stay in the same size pot for years, but when you do repot to a larger pot, only go up ONE pot size. For example if you have a plant in a 4 inch pot, don’t go any larger than a 6 inch pot.
POTTING MIX
There are a variety of potting mixes that you can use. There isn’t one “magic” potting mix. What you do have to be concerned about for Hoyas is that these plants need amazing drainage.
ALWAYS have a drainage hole. But this is not enough! You need very sharp drainage in your soil mix. These are epiphytes in nature, so they attach onto and grow on trees and therefore have amazing drainage and air all around their roots.
As a result of this, your potting mix should be nice and porous and airy.
Here are a couple options that work well:
- 2 parts of Miracle Gro potting mix and 1 part orchid bark
- 2 parts of succulent soil to 1 part perlite OR 1 part pumice
Some people like their own special blends, but like I said, there is no magic mix, as long as you have excellent drainage and your mix dries out fairly quickly.
FERTILIZER
Hoyas really don’t need a lot of fertilizer because they grow pretty slowly, especially the variegated Hoya kerrii.
HUMIDITY
Hoyas in general are tropical plants and grow as epiphytes in tropical Asia. So they love humidity! But they are remarkably tolerant of average humidity indoors.
However, it’s always a good idea to increase humidity for your Hoyas and other plants, especially if you have forced air heat. Winter air can be painfully dry (both for your skin and your plant!)
SUPPORT
The beauty in growing these plants is that they’re versatile in how you can display them. You can have them as hanging plants, or if you’d like something more structured, you can give them a support.
If you give them a support, it will be more similar to how they grow in nature since they’re epiphytes and will have tree trunks and branches as supports.
Many people train their Hoya vines with U shaped bamboo supports that are simply inserted into the pot. You can train and tie the vine to the support as it grows and you will have a lovely plant with a little time and care!
GROWTH HABIT
You may notice that your Hoya kerrii has long, bare stems at the growing tip. This is normal!
Hoyas put out vines that have large internodes (the area of the stem between the leaves). This is simply how they grow. Give them time and the leaves will eventually grow and look not-so-bare anymore!
FLOWERING
Hoya kerrri will flower for you eventually. Here are some tips to encourage flowering.
Good light is important! Be sure to follow my tips in the light section. This is paramount for flowering.
Keep the roots tighter and don’t grow these plants in huge pots.
A dry period in the winter time of a few weeks may help encourage blooming during the active growing season.
PESTS
Hoyas are rarely bothered by pests in general, except for mealy bugs! Mealy bugs will appear as white, cottony spots on your Hoyas.
When you do notice mealy bugs, you should spray your entire plant down with either Neem oil or a horticultural oil.
Be sure to spray the entire plant including the undersides of the leaves as well.
Always follow the directions on the label when using any pest control product.
And it is not a one-time spray! You should continue for a few weeks, even after you don’t see the mealy bugs anymore. This is because there may still be little critters crawling around that are hard to see with your naked eye.
HOYA KERRII TOXICITY
Hoya kerrii is non-toxic to cats and dogs according to the ASPCA.